The Arch builds on its mission

Endeavor to ease transition from addiction to sobriety is poised to expand

Dec. 30, 2013

Steve Fodness, director of residential services at the Carroll Institute, says needs are growing to expand space and programs at the Arch, which helps men transition to sobriety. Carroll Institute wants to build a campus of homes at 12th Street and Spring Avenue. / Emily Spartz / Argus Leader

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Jeff Andrews, Gene Haring and Chris Coatney watch TV at the Arch in Sioux Falls. The Arch has purchased a home right behind its 12th Street site. / Emily Spartz / Argus Leader

Carroll Institute facilities

The Arch: 333 S. Spring Ave. A transitional living facility for men going through treatment for drug and alcohol abuse. According to preliminary plans, the home would be demolished and rebuilt. The Arch currently has room for 40 residents. New Horizons: 327 S. Spring Ave. A residential facility for those awaiting treatment. The facility houses 22. Future site:516 W. 12th St. A newly purchased home that will be demolished and replaced with a new group home that would expand services of the Arch. Carroll Institute: 310 S. First Ave. Offices of the nonprofit organization and facilities for outpatient programs such as DUI School. Changes and Choices Recovery Center: East side of Carroll Institute parking lot. A residential treatment facility for women. Houses 28.

Steve Fodness / Emily Spartz / Argus Leader

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For more than 40 years, the Arch has provided a structured, sober home for men struggling with drug or alcohol abuse, but the programs have outgrown the 100-year-old house on the edge of downtown Sioux Falls.

Now the Carroll Institute, the nonprofit group that runs the Arch and other treatment programs, is hoping to do more by creating a campus of group homes at 12th Street and Spring Avenue.

The Carroll Institute already operates two homes there — the Arch and New Horizons, a short-term place for those awaiting treatment.

Last month, the Carroll Institute bought another home on the opposite side of the Arch. It will be torn down early next year, according to the institute’s proposal, and eventually the Arch will go, too.

A new facility on the adjoining properties could double the space of the Arch and allow the nonprofit to expand its programs.

“The programs are more important than the beds,” said Steve Fodness, director of residential services for the Carroll Institute.

The longer the clients stay in a sober environment, the more it helps them in the long run, Fodness said. But with two to six men sharing a room, he said, they get in a hurry to leave.

“It’s just not the best for everybody,” he said.

Most clients go through the treatment program at the Arch in 10 to 12 weeks. Adding two to three more weeks to that would be of great benefit, Fodness said.

The Arch provides a place for men transitioning back to normal life after time in jail or intensive treatment for their addictions. Most come to the Arch homeless and unemployed.

Newcomers visit with one of the two staff counselors and start by setting goals. They follow a 4 p.m. curfew and can leave the house for only a few hours at a time to look for work. Once they land a job and hold it for a while, they earn more privileges. They can stay out later and for longer periods.

“A sober house and a job or a purpose are two things we can give people to help them on their way,” Fodness said.

Executive director Gary Tuschen said administrators at the Arch have seen an increase of 3 percent to 5 percent in services from year to year.

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Waiting list to get in

Typically, about 20 people are on the waiting list for the Arch, which can house up to 40 clients. The new facility would have room to house another 30 to 40 men.

The extent of the expansion depends on finances, which won’t be settled until early next year, directors said.

“It’s been 10 years of scrimping,” Tuschen said.

“To be even talking about expansion as a nonprofit is miraculous,” said Brad Patterson, director of clinical and prevention services.

The Carroll Institute is going to the Sioux Falls Planning Commission with its proposal Jan. 8. The nonprofit is seeking a conditional-use permit for the new facility. Group homes within 1,000 feet of each other require a special permit. Volunteers of America runs another group home nearby.

Ideal location

Tuschen said it’s an ideal location because it’s close to transportation and health care services.

Patterson said the new facility will be a great enhancement to the Pettigrew Heights neighborhood.

“Our goal is to upgrade the entire neighborhood presence of the Carroll Institute and the Arch,” he said. “We want to be a good neighbor.”

The Carroll Institute presented its plan to the Pettigrew Heights Neighborhood Association this fall. Reaction was mixed.

The neighborhood association didn’t take a formal stance on the project. Association President Mark Sanderson said he personally supports it.

“It’s a necessary service in our society,” he said. “If the time and space in our neighborhood can help in that need, then more power to us.”

The newly purchased property on 12th Street has a three-story home that used to have five rental units. Once the house comes down, the Carroll Institute is hoping to build a new facility in its place. Programs of the Arch would move to the new facility while the old Arch is torn down and rebuilt.

The New Horizons house would stay as is. It got a major remodel when the Carroll Institute bought the house in 2005.